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A local prof got himself on Fox News' hate list by calling God impregnating Mary "grossly predatory." He points out that God has a history of doing terrible things to those who tell Him no, so any consent she gave would be in question.
http://www.citypages.com/news/minnesota-state-university-prof-virgin-birth-of-jesus-was-grossly-predatory/502200381

I just read this article and I don't think I've seen it mentioned on here so I thought I'd share:
https://www.inlander.com/spokane/how-one-mans-quest-to-spread-christmas-cheer-led-to-a-miserable-four-year-war-with-his-neighborhood/Content?oid=15109011
Cliff notes version:
- Christian man in Idaho is obsessed with Christmas from childhood and decides to turn his house into not just a few decorations, or even a lot of decorations but into a Christmas show extravaganza in his suburban neighborhood complete with over 200,000 lights, live camels, actors playing characters from the nativity, loud live music and stereo music, another actor dressed as Santa, has bus loads of people come on in to the streets because he advertises it, for five to seven days straight. He does put out collections for two Christian charities but that is not even listed as among his top motivations. He believes this is his ministry and God led him to do this. The fact that neighbors do not appreciate it means that they are discriminating against him based on his religion. Jury in court actually just agreed that the housing association was discriminatory and he won his case. It is going to appeal.
- The guy, Jeremy Morris, is probably fundie-lite by the sounds of it- Jerry Falwell convinced him to study law at Liberty University, he sees himself as a 'warrior for Christ' etc
- Morris seems to have a serious persecution complex and grandiose thoughts about his owns actions and importance and seeks the limelight (as a psychologist, it would be irresponsible for me to speak to his mental health ...but there are some strong narcissistic overtones and he seems to become slightly unhinged and act like a bully when anyone disagrees with him and I didn't note one iota of empathy for others from him in the entire story).
- Tactics he has used against his neighbors include recording every conversation, taking note of any violation any neighbors makes no matter how small of ordinances such as trash cans too close to the curb or in one case, an elderly woman owning three little dogs when the HOA says a maximum of two (the dogs have not caused any problems) and he taunts neighbors by asking, "Which dog should we take from her?"...because if she gets to keep 3 dogs, he should obviously get to put on his 'show'
There are so many wtf moments in this story. I need to run to work but have at it, guys! Would love to hear your thoughts!

Winter is coming - and so are a bunch of holidays.
Some, like Halloween, are secular (or anti-religious, depending on who you ask)
Others, like Christmas, have religious origins (Pagan or Christian, depending on who you ask) but have become secularized for many.
What holidays do you celebrate? How do you do it? Or if not, why, and do you do anything else instead?

I remember being about two years old (I have a long memory) and watching my dad plug in Christmas lights. That was probably the last year our family celebrated Christmas.
Both my parents grew up celebrating holidays like most of middle-class America, but as they began their slide into fundie-dom they started reading tracts and booklets about the evils of holidays. They believed that Christmas, Easter, and Halloween were evil throwbacks to paganism that had been perpetuated by the Catholics (who, of course, weren't "real Christians"). I'm linking here to something similar to the many booklets we had around the house: http://blowthetrumpet.org/AChristmasDefenseHowGodsPeopleJustifySin.htm
This refusal to celebrate holidays set my family apart, even from the fundamentalist Christians we associated with, and definitely caused a lot of confusion when people casually asked us kids what we were doing for Christmas, and we told them we didn't "do Christmas." We got asked a lot if we were Jehovah's Witnesses, since that's who usually comes to mind as not celebrating holidays. Sometimes people asked if my parents were Christian, because the idea of a Christian not celebrating Christmas was so astonishing.
Birthdays were only grudgingly allowed: we normally had just a family gathering, similar to the Maxwells' descriptions of their birthday celebration. It was often pointed out that the only birthdays mentioned in the Bible were the birthdays of evil men (Pharaoh and Herod). Also it was seen as being likely to draw to much attention to one person and make them self-centered.
This story has a bit of a happy ending, at least for me. After I left home, I embraced holidays with a vengeance. Christmas was amazing, my children got Easter baskets from my in-laws, Halloween was a pure delight of dressing my kids and taking them trick-or-treating. Now that I've left Christianity, I still look forward to the holidays. Christmas/Yule/Winter Solstice--whatever it's called, it's a time of joy and giving and yummy food. Halloween--it's a joy to watch my children enjoy what I didn't, with no fear of "Satan" to hinder their steps. The cycle of the seasons is cause for celebration, even if "Easter" isn't really a thing for me. And I want my children to feel special on their birthdays: to know that they're important and valued.
This rejection of holidays stemmed from anti-Catholic and anti-Pagan attitudes. It was promoted as being "God's way," but all the tracts reviled Catholics and Pagans, making it obvious that the real problem was with other people's belief systems. Of course, we were the ones with the "right" understanding of the Bible. As with everything else.
Nowadays, my parents still don't celebrate religious holidays, except for having or attending a Thanksgiving meal (apparently there's some justification in the Bible for "a day of thanks," don't ask me). They are free to do whatever they want on the holidays; meanwhile, at my house, there will likely be a delicious dinner cooking and a living room full of loved ones.

Hi everyone,
I have received a request for 'historical murder mystery books' as a Christmas gift from my brother. He has only read a few before and it isn't a genre i have read much of either so i wondered if people had any recommendations? There seems to be lots online so wasn't really sure where to start!
Thanks in advance for any help

I follow Johanna Basford on Facebook, and she posted these free downloadables! You can find them here https://www.johannabasford.com/blog/; I would love to see what other FJ colorists come up with! As always, I used my Prismacolor scholar pencils. I also decided to cut out the ornaments and hang them on my wall as some decoration. Ho ho ho

https://www.yahoo.com/news/parents-hatchimals-swearing-sailors-sleep-020734832.html
Well - looks like the 'must have' present for kids of 2016 has gone way wrong. I've seen reports of these things not hatching and such. Now they're swearing. Since these are redone furby's and I have almost nieces who had a furby I don't see the allure.

Talk about a damn buzz kill.
Things start to get a little intense at the end of the video when he's confronted by several beefy guys who are telling him to shut up and leave. I suspect things got even more intense after the video ends.

So I'm the bad Jew that really likes Christmas music.... but I'm the REALLY bad person that watches these videos and fangirls about the performers - impure thoughts and all. These guys are amazing and the acoustics in the church (catholic, clearly) are impressive.
I've got it pretty bad for the tenor with the long hair (Mr. Cowboy).
Peter Hollens (blue shirt) is totally welcome to come and save me anytime he'd like.
Anyone have any others to share?

So this year I feel 'okay' with Christmas. Not great. But okay. I'll take okay. The previous 2-3 years were hard. And, yes, mom and dementia and being burned out from stress had a lot to do with the last 2 years but the year before those (circa 2013) I wasn't okay with Christmas and I had no clue what was coming at me related to my mom.
Among the things I kept from my mom's was certain Christmas decorations. The tree, the ornaments I left all of those. The items I kept were made by my maternal grandmother between say the mid 1970's and maybe 1990. Every year she gave each of her kids the same ceramic piece at Christmas - so each family had one. Then each of the grandkids (specifically grand daughters because of the 14 of us, only 3 were boys) got same/similar ceramic pieces as well.
Due to my crazy aunt dispersing things after my grandmother died in 1995 and her own moving much later I wound up with a couple of pieces that were duplicates/extras. As a result I have 2 sets of 2 different angels.
I'm using the space on top of my kitchen cabinets to display some of these pieces year round now. The Spook does not go up there and I therefore consider it to be a fairly safe place for breakables. It also keeps me from being a bit too clumsy around things as well.
In the above photo the angels at either end, I have learned as an adult, were referred to by my (Northern) Baptist Church attending Grandmother as 'dammed angels.' The bowls in the angels hands were hard to clean (in green ware state). So some have no bowl, some have one and some have 2. And yes, I know, I'm dealing with Grandma's trademark antique white with gold accents ceramic work against an ecru wall and almond appliances/cabinets with pickled wood. Welcome to the world of apartments where everything is some form of beige.
This is the cabinet over my fridge. Grandma did the gold Mary/Joseph piece. Which has been broken and Mom (sigh) taped the ear back on the donkey. The angel to the right a neighbor gave my mom say 10 years ago (by the way, I like the coloring on it better - don't tell my grandmother) and the other angel is a tree topper of mine living up there for visual balance.
Here we have a card one of my cousins gave me eons ago that I never put away (unless moving), a wooden candle holder that I redid (it had been my mom's from my childhood) with a red candle on it and a few more of Grandma's/Mom's ceramic piece. I pulled the worn ribbon and plastic holly off of the ornament this year, added garland (gold) of my choosing and tied a new ribbon to it. And, thank you Menards, I found LED tea lights so that is one of them inside the ornament lit (and I don't have to worry about forgetting it).
My tree. I love this tree. A coworker gave it to me in 2010 or 2011. It is simply a wood square base, a square wood upriht and a wood star on top with lighted fake greenery around it. I added the ribbon (yes it matches the ribbon on the ceramic ornament). It takes me 5 minutes to pull out of a closet and put out. 5 minutes to put away. I also don't worry about the cat climbing it and I don't have to rearrange furniture. (yes, those are presents to myself that I will open later)
Finally we have a bit that I've picked up from my mom. The annual festooning of ordinary house (or office) plants with fake poinsettias.

Finished my first coloring book. I have a new one coming on Wednesday along with 50 new colored pencils, which is a big upgrade for me Looking forward to staring my new book and sharing it with you all.
I included an In Progress shot of the baubles for funsies.

Still working on my Christmas coloring book. Only have a few left, but my anniversary is coming up and I'm thinking about getting a real coloring book and a larger selection of colored pencils as my gift I've been really enjoying coloring and I feel like it helps when I get anxious, so thanks for giving me a place to share!
P.S. My toddler added his own touches on some

I didn't see a thread for Christmas baking but if there is one let me know so we can merge.
Getting a late start today, but on the agenda to back today:
kolachki
spritz cookies (cookie press)
coconut snowballs
crinkle cookies
cranberry muffins
and some peanut butter bacon homemade dog biscuits for the pups. I have a little bine shaped cookie cutter - too cute.
Next weekend I'll get to work on the candy and more cookies. Few days before Christmas I'll get the pecan rolls ready to go. So nice to just be able to toss them in the oven Christmas morning - no muss, no fuss. Tbh I'm not a fan, but the family loves them. I will be purchasing my pecans rather than stealing them.
Sadly, what I'm really craving is pfeffernusse but I've never been able to even come close to store bought. Archway kicks my ass every year, but if anyone has a recipe for some I'm always up for giving it another shot.
Those of you also covered in flour this time of year, what are you all baking?

Does anyone else get their pets Christmas presents?
Last year, my kitty got a pre packaged kitty stocking with cat treats, a ball and catnip. She found it a few weeks before Christmas and had a catnip party late at night. She also got a can of posh cat food, to match the meat we are having for Christmas dinner.
This year, I got a small cardboard box and filled it with cat stuff-four tins of fancy cat food (one each), a few packs of cat treats, catnip and various cat toys

http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/family-holiday-portrait-duct-tape/?fb=dd
Here's the photographer's page https://m.facebook.com/hannahhawkesphotography/ where she defends herself.
Cant believe how many people on facebook are saying "Get over yourselves, this is a joke!" Not funny at all.

My current plans are bowl cozies and casserole carries for my inlaws and the gift exchange at work. I'm also going to make two small quilts, maybe quillows, for the "new" grandkids. Oh and I'll make at least a lap size quilt for my girlfriend whose name I drew.

The War on Christmas is heating up this year.
First dirty looks at Toys'R'Us lead to shooting in parking lot, then 96-foot Christmas tree at Westin South Coast Plaza was destroyed in Monday morning fire.
FOOM:

Had to fix the fuse box and address 40 Christmas cards tonight instead of having sex. Being mature is boring. I did get a new candle from Yankee Candle though- it smells like peppermint cookies. Also. I was so scared of the fuse box shocking or burning me that I used rubber-coated tongs to reset it and stood as far away as I could. Still! First emergency home repair. Do I get an Adulting merit badge?

Compiling the ol' Christmas wish list. I put everything I want on that list, whether or not I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting it or not regardless of the cost. I figure what the hell, just put it on there in case someone is feeling really generous.
My immediate family does the same so we all know what to get each other too. Of course it takes a little bit of coordination so one person doesn't get three Pirates snuggies like he did one year.
Since I might be having surgery within the next year this was the first year I asked people to not get me certain things, such as beer or food items. I said even clothes wouldn't be a good idea since if I have the surgery they'll soon be too big for me.

I finally get my turn to host Thanksgiving at our house this year after about 8 years. My sil and mil have been taking turns and beating me to the punch for invites. I've had a warp dyed and waiting to become a table runner and placemats for for almost that whole time. After I invited everyone late last month I realized that I had better get on that warp. As so often happens while I weave, I decided to make some celtic knot binding to go around everything. So I now have the whole warp woven, and part of it over dyed because there was just too much yellow and not enough red, and the warp for the tablet weaving dyed. I have no idea if it will be done before thanksgiving ( I need like 20+ yards of binding), but I'm going to try. I always do this to myself at the holidays. I get all ambitious and over extend myself.
Anyway, what are you all working on for the holidays?

Unlike the amazing @laPapessaGiovanna I don't bake stuff that looks like it should be in an artisan bakery. My stuff is more homey which is code for messy but yummy.
With the upsetting news events and some problems at work which have me completely clenched I kicked off the holiday baking season for some much needed stress relief.
As always started with the far and away favorite our family's kolachkis. Those of you familiar with pastries of Polish descent might be familiar. There are two main types of kolachkis...the round ones and those folded over to look like little bow ties. Both delicious - only the former is considered a kolachki in my family off origin.*
*Like many Americans I am a mutt, but this recipe came from my grandfather's family. His parents were among the thousands of Polish immigrants to the Westfallen region of Germany (Bochum) where my grandpa was born. They were originally from the Podhale region of Poland - and we have a deli run by people from Zakopane in that region who also do the round version so I assume that's how the Goral (people of that region) do kolachkis.
I should note I'm in something of a mixed marriage since when I first made these for my headship he said they were great, but not kolachkis since they weren't folded over like his family makes them. He thought he had the winning argument because he is 100% of Polish descent and I have significantly weaker ties to that part of my family but he was wrong. Turns out the person with the recipe and willingness to bake them wins all such disputes.
My first attempt of the season always sucks...they taste good but I don't get the size and texture right until the second try so this was to get the ugly cookies out of the way.
The dough is simple - nothing but cream cheese, butter, and flour chilled at least 4 hours (overnight is better) and rolled out while cold to the thickness of pie crust, cut in rounds, dollop of Solo Pie Filling in the center and bake. Key things to remember is not to over handle the dough, they over bake easily to watch the time, and anything besides Solo brand for the filling is sacrilege and should be subject to capital punishment.
Cherry and apricot are the acceptable favors. I do make plum/prune also but not to eat...the purpose of those is to allow me to finish the last of the cherry / apricot without guilt knowing I am leaving something for others...even if it's everyone's third choice.
first season in the new house and couldn't find my cookie board so I improvised and used the sterilized (steam) granite counter. Is that gross? It was super clean but felt gross to work directly on counter. Stop judging, you don't have to eat them! Also couldn't find my cookie cutter (packed with Christmas stuff) so had to use a wine glass and went too small so they came out kind of mini.
Of the 60 I made exactly 4 came out properly. Better odds than usual for the first attempt of the season, but the family doesn't care about how sad and ugly the remainder are...they are already starting to vanish.
And there is a reason professional food photographers are a thing - this is hard. And I'm messy. I always try to work tidy like they do on food network and I do clean as I go...but the in process stuff is never as organized and lovely as it is on tv. You know what my problem is? I don't have a staff.